Coconut Mango Soup with Lychee, Pineapple, and Avocado

Boba is all the rage, but have you ever had boba in a soup? This dessert soup is a creamy blend of sweetened coconut milk and mango, with chunks of other tropical fruits and chewy boba pearls.

Serve it icy cold and refreshing, or warm and comforting for a cold winter’s day.

Be sure to use mangos that are at their peak of ripeness and avocados that yield to gentle pressure but are not mushy. Your pineapple should also be perfectly ripe, tender, and sweet. It’s the quality of the fruits that make this soup fabulous.

Keffir lime leaves add a lovely, indescribable flavor. The tree is grown for it’s leaves; the fruit is inedible. They’re sold fresh or frozen in Asian market. Each stem consists of two leaves, one bigger than the other. You’ll want 4 pairs for this soup. Prepare them by separating the pair and tearing each leaf in half along its spine to release their flavor.

If you can’t find them, you can substitute strips of lime peel. It won’t be quite the same, but it will still be delicious.

You’ll want to prepare this soup at least 6 hours in advance.

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe Mangos

• 2 cans full fat Thai-style coconut milk

• 1/2 cup palm sugar (you can use light brown sugar). Add 2 tablespoons more if you like it very sweet

• 4 pairs kaffir lime leaves

• a pinch of salt

• 3/4 cup large pearl tapioca (boba), prepared according to package directions

• 1 cup pineapple, cut into small pieces

• canned lychees, drained and halved (save the syrup for a lychee martini!)

• 1 avocado, cut into small cubes

fresh mint leaves

Options:

• Switch out dried pineapple for the fresh for a different texture

• Add a few halved maraschino cherries for color

• Add some small cubes of ripe papaya, fresh or canned

Method:

Prepare the tapioca pearls according to package directions. When they’re done, set them aside in a bowl with cold water, to keep them from sticking together.

Peel the mangoes. Cut three of them in no particular way and put them into a food processor or blender. Cut the remaining mango into small cubes and set aside.

Add the coconut milk to the processor and purée, then pour the puree into a medium sized pot.

Add the prepared keffir lime leaves to the pot and gently warm the mixture over medium heat—don’t let it boil!

Allow the soup to rest in the refrigerator for several hours, or overnight, so that the flavor of the lime leaves infuses the soup.

When the soup is chilled, remove the keffir lime leaves and discard them.

If you’re serving it cold, now is the time to stir in the boba pearls and all your cubed fruits.

Ladle into bowls and garnish each one with a mint leaf.

If you’re serving it warm, return the soup to the pot and re-warm it gently. Again, don’t let it come to a boil. Then remove the soup from the heat and add the boba and cubed fruits as above, then ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each one with a mint leaf.

Note: If the soup appears to be too thick, add a little cold water, before serving or before re-heating. For a cold soup, it’s even nice to serve it with small pieces of ice mixed in.

Did you make it? Was it fabulous?